Behind Me Satan

I'm Not A Perfect Person

 Hoobestank

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In the many teachings of the Christian life, none is greater than those dealing with Charity. All "natural" loves, those organic stirrings in the breast may be made full or whole in Charity with the acceptance of the gift as love.
While human emotion or sentimentality in itself may result in an affection which ultimately eats itself up, a love of need, a craving now satisfied, love as gift is looking towards another, one to receive the gift and the giver who gives it. This love is in proportion.

Can one love 'too much?' Loving in proportion is not simply about quantity, rather it places itself in relation to the Creator, the one who gives all from the first. Can then a love be too much for an earthly beloved? The question doesn't seek an answer as to emotional intensity. Rather is asks, whom do you serve, where do you place your treasure?

While all love, we are taught, comes from the Creator, there surely is nothing against fully engaging in human loves, nor for fear of disappointment or hurt as a result. In Luke 14:26 this is carried a step further. It introduces the notion of hate here. What is it to earthly love to hate? Why does Luke say it as he does?

He exclaims in this story, not that the Creator is counseling hate, but rather he is exclaiming to all who wish a taste of divine charity, to 'get behind me,' that they set themselves against the hateful, make no concession to it, nor to the beloved when the beloved calls however sweetly, prompts of Satan, the devil.

A man, retorts the Christ, cannot serve two masters. Either he serves the good or he serves the other. The humble in a sense of Grace may have the sense of service to the One, a knowledge of the Creator herself; only knowledge because the source is so vast.

God is Love, declares Paul. "Not that we loved, but that God has loved us.' 1John 4:10. John declares this not as an entry to mysticism, but as a real beginning, that love is divine energy. This energy loved into being all that exists on earth as a Divine creation.

It is a Creator's love directed to what one finds intrinsically unloveable: the murderer, the thief, the deviant, the cheat, and others, but through a movement of the Holy Spirit, charity comes into play and one gives something of that divine energy, something of ones' own heart, rendering the unloveable more divine, more lovable. All may be clothed in the Christ.

Luke it seems, recognized that there is the complex, unloveable in all of us; that in our darkest recesses are those vague, unformed impulses driving towards the evil energies fully present in the world. Luke 8:11-15
 In the book of Matthew there, further insists that Charity, the Love energy was greater, thus he demands, "Get behind me Satan!"  Mat. 16:23

Wishing For What Is True

The Policy of Truth

By Depeche Mode

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You had something to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you?
Now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through

It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth

Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilized
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied

It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth

Never again
Is what you swore
The time before...

Now you're standing there tongue tied
You better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell

You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth

Never again
Is what you swore
The time before...

In today's world many are jaded; so it seems that even in the face of a measure of truth, some still resist. Are they listening or thinking? Why resist what must be? A thing in itself is still itself as the philosophers say. Should we 'have hidden it?'
Should the policy of truth be the guide to human relationships? Hide what you have to hide/tell what you have to tell... sounds somewhat prudent, even wise. But then the fall comes. And the truth is critical to it all. In every life there are unintended consequences to our behaviors and actions. We simply do not control any of the other actors in life and that's annoying, to say the least.

Events take place that we could not possibly have anticipated, or even imagined, so far from our normal understanding they are. So what then? It seems that finally, we just have to deal, as the expression goes.
 Deal with what comes from others, deal with our consequences, even if what we contributed bore unintended and negative results. Just deal with it. The Bible has many things to say about the truth of anything, a truth which admits to change:

They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the
way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are
not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status.

 Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the
    census tax to Caesar or not?"
    Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you
    hypocrites?
      Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him
    the Roman coin.
    He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
    They replied, "Caesar's."  At that he said to them, "Then repay to
    Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
    "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
    He said to him,  "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
    heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
    This is the greatest and the first commandment.
    The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Bible Matthew 23:16-21; 36-39

Truth telling after reading the Christian disciple Matthew, and carefully considering the meaning takes on another dimension. Here it 's not the childish "I cannot tell a lie," but the skillfulness of discernment. One can and must know what is true, or not hang his hat there.
Even if one did not like the Emperor Caesar, one was still obliged to pay him homage; if one did not agree with the Roman policies, one still was obliged to pay heed to them, and if one was to love his neighbor as himself, then one is to tell truth as needs to be told to enact the love of self and neighbor. To do otherwise, in the Christian view, is to delude the self with deceits that one then deals others.

Social Work in the Absence of Faith

"the value of observation over judgment was lost upon her, lost as she thought that her life was really somewhere else, somewhere not in this and every moment."

 Discerning rather than judging is hard; often it's really hard. We are reminded in most all the spiritual traditions east or west, about the practice of openness, of emptiness and the great gifts it brings when we are empty to receive in the here and now. Our life is filled moment to moment with the world and ourselves, filled to the top.
The militancy of  persons engaged in 'social initiatives,' 'community action' or the like is unnecessary in Jesus' world. Often it arises in moments of fearfulness, places where 'voids in faith' prosper.
The Christ's strength came from within himself to be shared with all he came into contact with. His peace became their peace, and his love their own.

Jesus, the Christ, reminds us of this when we read the gospels which tell of his decided indifference to the character and style of an individual life. Tax collectors, despots, harlots and others, he was willing to treat them, to attend to the great commandment of love for one's neighbor.

Who is your neighbor? The gospel of Luke 10:30-37 gives some clues:
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who also stripped him and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead.  And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by.  
But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion: And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine over his wounds, and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  
And the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever you shall spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay you.  Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers?  He said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do in like manner.

 It is not necessary to go far to meet one which you and your gifts may help. Neighbors are everywhere. If we are living in the "now moment," the present moment with its most pressing meaning, before long, we will come to understand our self first and our neighbor more clearly who is very human, like our self.
 It becomes clear that a thinking mind may observe and notice without casting stones or passing judgements. 

Questions, after all, are about listening. And they start conversations that may close gaps, increase confidence and strengthen community. Discernment and compassion in place of quick judgement is a valuable way to understand, and to love.

"If only we could be white as snow." 
-- sung by U2

The Worker

"Hell is not to love anyone, anymore"  --author George Bernanos, The Diary of a Country Priest

It's a lifetime job. When we think we just can't do it another day, always something intervenes, and we go on; we find the light, the way beyond to the challenge to love once more, one more day.
Love, they say, is a gift; a gift from God. Its origins are mysterious, its source an eternal well springing forth cool waters, peace for our soul. Yet it 's the one, single thing that makes work easier because of  this love we bear for each other, even in unexpected moments. 
The Work, tasks undertaken for others, becomes incrementally more and more difficult to the degree in which conflict  (read: conflict as the ego-who-is-I) enters; quarreling, dissension, hearts full with a Spirit of Criticism, or Competition; those drain the purpose for our being, the reasons for which we live every day. This makes many sad in their day and feeling life without good purpose.

An important distinction to make is the difference between shining a light upon oneself and a light shone upon others. We are Workers, here to bear the faults of others patiently, with grace and the prayerful hope that living in any given moment, we may share that grace with others.

Be humble in the Work, engage with mutual charity; see all and yet remain simple minded. Although some will surely say that you are blind, that you do not see the faults and crimes of others. Be still, because you do. 
The difficulty is not seeing the faults, for they are very often so obvious to onlookers, but  have the courage to look past them to the grace and the beauty that surely is there. To see others virtues, positive aspects and skills, and encourage their development, is a crucial activity of the Christian Worker.

The community which is composed of lay people, those lacking formal, religious training from say a monastery or a convent, may initially find it difficult to regulate themselves as a group working within the frame of Christ's charity; Saint Paul knew this well. 
The Bible records many a letter from Paul to the early Christian communities exhorting them to practice and follow the ways, the teachings of the Christ. Thus the temptation to criticize is strong, the will to patience may be weak.
 
Yet we must always recall that each and everyone has come to community of his or her own free will; the Spirit has moved them there. Sometimes within a community the most overtly passionate, the most open and strong willed among us, those who speech is aggressive, whose passion flows towards a state of "activism," who are quick to call out others-- those ones will indeed find division. Without good leadership such persons may undo the work of service that the Christian community is called to. This antithesis of the Catholic Worker movement is decidedly detrimental to the growth of the faithful. 

With division fully operational, it is not hard to imagine why things are not running smoothly, why the spirit of peace and justice do not materialize. Leaders, true christian leaders are hard to find. The very best are as the Beatitudes preach: humble, kindhearted, steadfast, filled with the love of the Holy Spirit. It is sometimes these very virtues that make it hard for the humble to assume leadership. Yet like Saint Paul, they must.

The Christian Worker movement is one in which each member may, through his or her daily work, find peace and the love of the Christ, returned to them thru those whom they serve and in return, quite possibly, discover on their own, personal reasons  what is important in life, and what they will do in that lifetime.

 Responding to this challenge of the work of a lifetime is found in our beating hearts, alongside the love each brings, the love they bear. In doing the Work, love, we learn, is not the least weak; it's strong, patient, kind, forbearing, slow to seek revenge, sooner to seek peace through forgiveness. 
This love is not a brittle, fickle affection; rather a hard won, passionate love as the Christ on the Cross who endures. Those following in His steps are the Workers, the Jesus people.
Corinthians 13

The Advent

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Isaiah 9:2

For the Advent

Lord of heaven and earth,you have come to lead the people
out of darkness into the light of Divine love.

Send your Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we may see clearly.

Help us to discover your presence in our world, especially in the needy, in our families and in our communities. Give us graciousness.

May we be evermore certain that our true joy
may be found in you. Amen.

The writer and historian, Frank Prochaska notes that today, "few subjects bring out so well the differences between our selves and our ancestors as [much] as the history of Christian charity.


In an increasingly mobile and materialist world, in which culture has grown more national, indeed global, we no longer relate to the lost world of nineteenth-century parish life.


Today, we hardly imagine a voluntary society that boasted millions of religious associations providing essential services, in which the public rarely saw a government official apart from the post office clerk. Against the backdrop of the [now] welfare state and the collapse of church membership, the very idea of Christian Social Reform has a quaint, Victorian air about it."

And yet the Christ remains to proclaim to all that the people in darkness have seen a great light.
Psalm 104: Send out your spirit, renew the face of the earth.

Clothing as Love

I'm In You 

by Peter Frampton

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I don't care where I go
When I'm with you
When I cry, you don't laugh
'Cause you know me

I'm in you, you're in me
I'm in you, you're in me
'Cause you gave me the love
Love that I never had
Yes, you gave me the love
Love that I never had

You and I don't pretend
We make love
I can't feel any more
Than I'm singing, yeah...

Come so far when you think
Of last fall
You can't buy what we made
You and I, oh

I'm in you, you're in me
I'm in you, you're in me
'Cause you gave me the love
Love that I never had
Yes, you gave me the love
Love that I never had
You gave me the love
Love that I never had

I don't care where I go
When I'm with you...

While it may be quite true that those who are happiest clothe themselves in the Holy Spirit alone, it's through brief moments of inspiration, that we first make the connection to Spirit and Self.
These contacts over time become more sustainable, they make an opening for a change in consciousness; our reality changes. The eternal qualities of faith, hope and charity become more obvious and relevant. And what remains is real.

Two people in coming together weave a cloth which becomes uniquely their own reality. Whether any one else understands that view or not is immaterial to the lovers. What does matter is that they have this consciousness, this opening and they between them, possess comprehension of it.

A strong weave makes for strength in each of the beloveds. It is not necessarily intellectual; in fact when asked to explain it, often they are lost for words. So they may suffice to say, ' it's just a feeling; we understand it between us.'

The poet Rumi wrote, "Love is the sea where intellect drowns."

Shepherd me O God

Psalm 23
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Shepherd me O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want, I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love, I walk by the quiet waters of peace.

Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul, you lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth, my spirit shall sing the music of your name.
 
Though I shall wander the valley of death, I fear no evil, for you are at my side, your rod and your staff,
my comfort and my hope. 

You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred, crowning me with love beyond my power to hold. 

Surely your kindness and mercy follow me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of my God for evermore.

Music and adapted lyrics by Marty Haugen, GIA Music Publishers 1986

Giving to the Poor, Variation of a Theme

They'll Know We Are Christians
Lyrics by Carolyn Arends
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We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love
By our love, by our love
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love 

We cannot ever overlook Tzedakah, charity to the world as the Jewish faith teaches. What  our Christian inheritance contains is a teaching of charity according to the ancients that helps first and foremost the giver; the focus of the teaching is upon the giver. Some are materially poor, others are poor in spirit; while still others are poor in mind or health. All of us experience some form of poverty in our lives.
Charitable behavior is central to Jewish ethics and thought. It is rooted in the concepts of fairness, justice and equity. Notice that nowhere in this idea do we find the words pity, sorrow or giving favors. And central to this idea is that all are deserving of charity in the way of food, clothing and shelter. It is rectifying an injustice to another, giving what all should have in the first place. And there is poverty of several types. Thus a just society is one adjudged to have complete charity for one and all. Perfect  karma.

The Last Judgment Matthew 25:

The king will say, you have my father’s blessing! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave food; I was naked and you clothed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me. And when I was ill or imprisoned, you visited with me.[In the end] we will answer for our brothers; as you did for the least of them, you did for me.

Matthew 25:31-46